Secret boys business

As happy as I am that Alex is learning all sorts of new things at pre-school, where for example they made a 'volcano' erupt in the sand-pit the other day, it leads to some interesting at-home experiments.

I was changing Maya's nappy in her room when I heard Alex's footsteps going backwards and forwards between the kitchen and bathroom (which has the only sink in the house that he can reach without assistance). "What are you doing Alex?" I enquired.

"It's ok Mum," he reassured me, "I'm only doing things that are allowed. Nothing else." This was followed by clattering, running water and him mumbling instructions to himself.

When I ventured in to see what he was up to, I found a jug full of water next to a cup and assorted cutlery. Alex was pumping sorbolene into the jug, thankfully having decided not to use the expensive hair product or hand lotion. "It's just an adventure," he shrugged. I think he meant experiment.

Herbie a has-been?

"Mum, I'm too old for Herbie now," Alex announced out of the blue one morning. "I still like Minis, but Herbies were for when I was around 2."

An age-old question

Climbing into bed with Alex to lie down and read him a story and wait until he falls asleep, I asked, (almost rhetorically), "Alex, when are you going to be able to take yourself off to bed by yourself?"

He appeared to consider this question and replied, "When I'm five."